....Places to go, places to eat and other stuff loosely-linked to London living...

Saturday, 12 April 2014

Restaurant Le Dahu, La Chaux, Verbier, Switzerland

One of the better places to eat on the slopes above Verbier, Le Dahu has a reasonable self-service canteen with tables inside and out, plus a large, but respectable, restaurant. If you want table service, you may have to join the queue thronging around the amiable host on the upstairs terrace. Again, there are tables outside, plus a large modern dining room with a mezzanine level. Although Le Dahu has space for hundreds of covers, it can still be packed. The menu offers a good selection of mountain food. The cheese fondu (27 Swiss francs a head) is rich and satisfying. You get a pan of creamy cheese, bubbling on the little stove, accompanied by a big basket of hunks of slightly stale bread, plus a bowl of gherkins and pickled onions. Le Dahu also offers sizeable and sumptuous pizzas (starting at about 20 francs). You can get big jugs of tap water to dilute the beer, wine or coffee and keep you safe on the slopes. Despite the deluge of diners, the service is fairly fast and efficient. And Le Dahu seems to recruit waiters and waitresses with personality and a sensor of humour.

Le Dahu's self-service canteen, which also does decent food, is ideal for kids and teenagers - there are lots of bean bags, as well as deck chairs, on the terrace overlooking the mountains. The sandwiches (about eight francs) are big and tasty. And you'll find a good selection of flavours, including salmon and roast beef with salad, as well as the stock Swiss combo of cheese and ham. Moreover, there is a choice of baguettes or warm paninis. For about the same price, you can also get a big cup of something hot, such as a meaty goulash or the soup of the day. A pint of beer will cost you a palatable 6.50 francs. The burger-joint style chips and the machine hot chocolate are the only let downs. 8/10